Geography & Family History By Stanley Merridew

In
tracing your ancestry obviously a grasp of history, historical dates and facts
can be useful but it is worth taking into consideration that geography, econonic
geography in particular, plays just as an important part in our research. Some researchers are fortunate in finding a
family stayed in one parish for generations but they are in the minority. For the majority our forebears flitted from
place to place leaving no apparent trail.

The
reason was invariably to earn a living.
Go back as recent as the turn of the twentieth century and a huge
percentage of the working population was employed in agriculture or domestic
service. All occupations within these
categories were dependent upon the whims of their employer. Both categories were often employed on an
annual basis, taken on at hiring fairs, the like of which within our locality
were held at Otley, Skipton, Ripon and possibly Hawes. Normally when a family suddenly disappears
from a parish we would look in adjacent parishes. However an agricultural labourer or housemaid
could be one year at say Adel, in September (the time hiring fairs were
normally held) goes to Otley Fair and takes on a job at Addingham and the next
year goes to Skipton Fair and ends up in Long Preston with a number of parishes
between the first move and the second.

If
they are producing children parish registers or non conformist registers will
show baptisms. Marriage entries may not
help as by the time of the ceremony they are “of this parish”. If they fell on hard times parish chest
documents can prove invaluable where a settlement examination takes place to
prove their parish of settlement so that their current parish can claim subsistence
from their parish of settlement. If they were employed on a large estate
sometimes the records will contain wage records, normally found at County
Record Offices and rarely explored by family historians. This is very relevant to Yorkshire
as much of the land formed part of large estates and the owners often had
property elsewhere transferring workers from one area to another. Once the
census came along clues are there with birthplaces of spouse and children. A county parish map is invaluable to track
down all possibilities and knowing all records that are available for each
parish.

Where
families crossed county boundaries, the same reasoning applies but with
additional considerations. From the
middle of the eighteenth century new employment opportunities arose in the
heavy industries of the north east, textiles and related trades in Yorkshire
and Lancashire and a wide variety of industries in the Midlands. Coal mining was spread across the north, the
midlands, Scotland, Wales and often forgotten, north Kent. Those involved in maritime trades frequently
moved along the coast and sometimes long distances. In Norfolk for
instance many families came from or went to Grimsby,
Hull, Newcastle,
Sunderland and the east coast of Scotland. The textile industry saw perhaps the biggest
migration with families transferring from strong traditional areas such as East Anglia and the West Country with
mechanisation thriving in Yorkshire, Lancashire
and Nottinghamshire. Many of the
leadmining families of Wharfedale came from other parts such as Swaledale,
Derbyshire, Cornwall
and some the coalmining regions. Then,
when leadmining waned, they went back to those areas or moved elsewhere.

The
birth of the railways from the 1840s also created large scale migration with
workers being transferred as new lines were launched. Fortunately by this date the census begins to
help with birthplaces. Railway company
records are volumeous but do regularly show employee records. The original staff on the Otley & Ilkley
Railway came mainly from Deryshire where they had been employed by the Midland
Railway Company. Unfortunately for us
the railway companies had a habit of moving staff around their region.

Finding Adjacent
Churches & Chapels

Genuki, a site many will know has many
treasures, including a parish locater.
Go to “Gazetteer”, enter the place name and county, click on Find a
Church” and it will list all possibilities within a three mile radius including
non conformists and churches and chapels later than the ancient parishes You can then click on “Plotted on a Google
Map” and hey presto they all appear. (December
Journal)

Looking
further afield, London
has always proved a magnet. Any quick
scan of a census page for London
shows individuals with a variety of origins.
However even in London there is often a pattern with East London drawing
incomers from an arc of Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk and Kent, whereas on the
western side many are from Surrey, Berkshire and further afield. Transit families would also the use the
obvious routes, main roads. Many years
ago I analysed the population of Wetherby in the 1861 census and discovered a
huge percentage of the population were born outside of Wetherby and its
environs. Of course the A1 ran through
the middle and the majority of the strays had moved up or down the trunk route,
for ease of transportimg what few chattels they possessed.

For
those with more adventurous ancestors who crossed oceans the internet has
proved a real boon. Census records for
US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are now accessible to
us. They are always worth checking if you are searching an
unusual surname as you may find other strands of your family. Ellis Island in New York, where all immigrants were
processed, released their records from the 1890s and more records of arrivals
in the former colonies are being released.
There is a database of those transported to Australia available online plus
many passenger lists.

In
this article I have only scratched the surface of many possibilities. “”My Ancestors Moved” by Antony Camp,
published by the Society of Genealogists will give a wider perspective and you
may have your own theories you could share.
Often in family history you hit the “brick wall.” It is often a question of looking at every
possibility, sometimes from a different angle.
They didn’t choose to be elusive although sometimes it appears that
way.